Practice: Breathing Patterns

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Practice: Breathing Patterns

OBJECTIVE

• To practice different breathing patterns at different intensities to find where each may be useful to you.
• To strengthen breathing on your WEAK side.
• To expand the number of patterns you may use, utilizing bi-lateral breathing.
• To become familiar with how changes in stroke intensity and tempo affect your breathing pattern.

The idea behind this practice is to help you experience different breathing patterns at different intensity and tempos so that you can see how those affect the frequency at which you need to take in air. At the same pattern, a higher tempo allows you to turn to breathe more frequently, but it also increases your oxygen demand – so you need to learn how to adjust breathing patterns to fit your oxygen needs and fit the conditions you are swimming in. You will need different patterns at different times.

Tools:

• You may use a Tempo Trainer in this practice, if you have one.

DISTANCE

2700 meters

DRILLS AND FOCAL POINTS

Head Position Focal Points:

• A = Patient Front Arm (front arm does not move while breathing)
• B = Split The Goggles (with the surface of the water, on your turn to breathe)
• C = Hooked Fish (reach the chin and side of mouth to air)

Air Exchange Focal Points:

• D = Small Bubbles From Nose (continuous stream of small bubbles during non-breathing strokes)
• E = Clear The Airways (clear your nose and mouth just a microsecond before touching the air)
• F = Partial Exchange (taking smaller inhales, but more frequently)

Timing Focal Points:

• G = Breathe Early As Possible
• H = Quick Sip Of Air
• J = Race Recovery Arm Back (your eyes should not see your own Recovery Arm coming forward)

TUNE-UP

400 meters

• 250m whole stroke, QUIET swimming,

Relax as much as possible and remove all tension from each area of the body: Head/Spine, Arms, Legs.

Pay attention to the pattern of breathing you normally use – how many strokes between each and on which sides.

• 2x 25m with light pressure on the Catch, with FP of your choice.
• 2x 25m moderate pressure on the Catch, with FP of your choice.
• 2x 25m firm pressure on the Catch, with FP of your choice.

Choose from any of the Focal Points listed below, or choose your own.

 

MAIN SET 1

500 meters

5 Rounds of 4x 25m.

Choose one breathing Focal Point from the list above for each repeat.

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes, on your STRONG side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 2 strokes, on your WEAK side.
• Round 3 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 4 – breathe on every 4 strokes, then 3 strokes, then 4, then 3, etc.
• Round 5 – breathe on every 5 strokes.

MAIN SET 2

900 meters.

In this set you will experience the effect that changing stroke intensity (pressure of the Catch) will urge you to make on breathing pattern.

Pick 3 breathing Focal Points from the list above. Rotate through those Focal Points, choosing one on each repeat.

3 Rounds of (2x 50m) at light Catch pressure.

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes on your WEAK side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 3 – breathe on 4 strokes, then 3, then 4, then 3, etc.

3 Rounds of (2x 50m) at medium Catch pressure

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes on your WEAK side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 3 – breathe on 4 strokes, then 3, then 4, then 3, etc.

3 Rounds of (2x 50m) at firm Catch pressure

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes on your STRONG side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 3 – breathe on 4 strokes, then 3, then 4, then 3, etc.

MAIN SET 3

900 meters

In this set you will experience the effect that changing Tempo will urge you to make on your breathing patterns.

Pick 3 Focal Points from the list above. Rotate through those Focal Points, choosing one on each repeat.

Pick your most comfortable cruising Tempo (the one you feel you could pleasantly swim your longest swim with). Call this Tempo “T”.

You will set three Tempo values: T (normal), T+0.15 (slow), and T-0.15 (fast). [For example, if your T= 1.35, T+0.15 = 1.50, and T-0.15 = 1.20]

3 Rounds of (2x 50m) at Tempo T+0.15 (slow).

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes on your WEAK side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 3 – breathe on 4 strokes, then 3, then 4, then 3, etc.

3 Rounds of (2x 50m) at Tempo T (normal).

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes on your WEAK side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 3 – breathe on 4 strokes, then 3, then 4, then 3, etc.

3 Rounds of (2x 50m) at Tempo T-0.15 (fast).

• Round 1 – breathe on every 2 strokes on your STRONG side.
• Round 2 – breathe on every 3 strokes.
• Round 3 – breathe on 4 strokes, then 3, then 4, then 3, etc.

To increase the challenge/complexity of these sets you may:

• Increase the distance of the repeats, to (25m, 50m, 75m) for example.
• Breathe on 3 strokes, then 5 strokes, then 3, then 5, etc.
• Increase the range of Tempos to T, T+0.20, T-0.20, for example.

Note: You should pay attention to what happens at the wall, during your turn. Even a fast, skillful flip-turn requires a swimmer to hold breath for maybe 5 or 6 seconds. That is a long time, and puts the swimmer in oxygen debt at each turn. Consider the trade-off to doing a fast open-turn, which gives you a breath at the wall (3 seconds between) so you only hold your breath during the push-off, versus a flip-turn that requires you to hold your breath for up to 6 seconds from glide into wall, flip, turn, and push-off to break-out. If your pool training is intended to help you with open-water racing, then flip-turns and holding your breath for so long are not skills you need in open-water racing. You need strong rhythmic breathing. I recommend developing a skillful open-turn, which, if done well over 1000m may cost you 15 seconds, yet prevent you from going into oxygen debt so quickly.

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